Annotations on the Pentateuch, Psalms, Song of Songs, Biblical commentary 2 · Chapter 31
CHAP. XXXI.
1 Bezaleel and Aholiab, are called and made meet for the worke of the Taberna…le, and furniture thereof. 12, The observation of the Sabbath is againe commanded. 18, Moses receiveth the two Tables of the Law.
AND Iehovah spake unto Moses saying. See, I have called by name, Bezaleel the son of Vri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Iudah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God: in wisedome, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all workmanship. To devise cunning-workes: to worke in gold, and in silver, and in brasse. And in ingraving of stone; to fill; and in carving of wood: to worke in all workmanship. And I, behold I have given with him, A holiab the son of Ahisamac of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all wise hearted, I have given wisedome, that they may make all that I have commanded thee. The Tent of the congregation, and the Arke of the Testimonie, and the Covering-merciemercy▪seat that is thereupon: and all the vessels of the Tent. And the Table, and the vessels thereof: and the pure Candlesticke, and all the vessels thereof: and the Altar of incense. And the Altar of burnt-offring, & all the vessels therof: and the Laver, and the foot thereof. And the garments of ministery, and the garments of holinesse for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sonnes, to minister-in-thepriests office. And the anointing oile, and incense of sweet-spices, for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee, shall they doe.
And Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying. And thou, speake thou unto the sonnes of Israel, saying; Verily my Sabbat…s yee shall keepe, for it is a signe betweene me and you, throughout your generations; to know, that I am Iehovah that sanctifieth you. And yee shall keepe the Sabbath, for it is holinesse to you: they that profane it, every one shall bee put-to▪die the death: for every one that doth any worke therein, even that soule shall bee cut-off, from amongst his peoples. Six daies shall worke be done; but in the seventh day, is the Sabbath of Sabbathisme, holinesse to Iehovah: every one that doth any worke in the Sabbath day, shall be put to die the death. And the Sons of Israel shall keepe the Sabbath: to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant. Betweene me and the Sonnes of Israel, it shall be a signe for ever: for in Six daies, Iehovah made the heavens & the earth; and in the Seventh day he rested and was refreshed.
And he gave unto Moses, when hee had made-an-end of speaking with him, on mount Sinai, two Tables of testimonie: Tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Annotations.
BEzaleel] in Greeke, Beseleel; by interpretation, In the shadow of God: he was the sonne of Vri, the sonne of Hur, the sonne of Caleb, or Chelubai, the sonne of Esron, the sonne of Pharez, the sonne of Iudah; from whom he was the seventh generation, (as Enoch was the seventh from Adam,) and is here designed the master workman of the Lords Tabernacle. See his genealogie, in 1 Chron. 2. 5. 9. 18. 19. 20.
Vers. 3. Spirit] that is, gifts of the Spirit, such as are after mentioned. So Paul openeth it, in 1 Cor. 12. 4. 8. 11. see also Act. 2. 4. The Greeke expoundeth it, a divine Spirit; the Chaldee, a Spirit from before the Lord. workmanship] or, Art: Hebrew, worke. So verse 4.
Vers. 4. devise cunning-workes] such as were mentioned in Exodus 26. 1. &c. see the notes there. The Hebrew phrase, is figurative; to thinke thoughts: which the Greek explaineth, to thinke (or minde) and to make-artificially: the Chaldee saith, to teach artificers: as it is in Exodus 35. 34. These three things in Bezaleel; a calling, a furnishing with gifts, and a working or operation accordingly, are necessarie in all the publike ministers of the Church. So Paul mentioneth diversities (or distributions) 1 of gifts, by the Spirit; 2 of administrations (or ministeries) by the Lord [Iesus;] and 3 of operations, by God [the Father,] 1 Cor. 12. 4. 5. 6. … to worke] or, to doe, to make: but doing is often used for working (as is noted on Exod. 5. 9.) and so the Greek translateth it here; also in verse 5.
Vers. 5. ingraving] or cutting. The Hebrew word generally signifieth a studious and artificiall ingraving or cutting in stone, in wood, in yron, in earth, (and then it is Englished ploughing,) or any other like handicraft. to fill] that is, to set in the golden ouches, as Exod. 28. 21. to worke] or, to make in all worke: meaning cunning worke; as is expressed in Exod. 35. 33.
Vers. 6. Aholiab] in Greeke, Eliab; by interpretation, The Tabernacle of the Father. Hee is the second master-workman, and of the tribe of Dan the handmaids sonne, joyned with Beseleel, as God usually joyneth two together in al weighty affairs: See Exod. 4. 14. 15. and 6. 26. Matth. 10. 2. 3. Luk. 10. 1. Acts 13. 2. Hag. 1. 14.
Vers. 7. vessels] or instruments, furniture, implements. So after.
Vers. 10. of ministerie] veiles, clothes, coverings, which served to wrap up the holy things in, when the host removed; as Num. 4. 5. 9. 11. 12. &c. Of the Priests garments, see Exod. 28.
Vers. 13. Uerily] or Notwithstanding: the Greeke translateth it See. Though the worke of the Tabernacle, were studiously and speedily to be done, yet God would not have any of it done on the Sabbath daies. The Law of the Sabbath is very often repeated, see Gen. 2. 2. Exod. 16. 23. &c. and 20. 8. &c. and 23. 12. and 35. 2. 3. to know] that is, that ye may know, as the Greeke translateth. The principall signification of the Sabbath, was for grace and sanctitie; which therefore the Lord often urgeth, and blameth the breach of this day, as the violating of his covenant. See Neh. 9. 14. Ezek. 20. 12. 13. 16. 20. 21. Esay 58. 13. The true observation hereof, is by faith in Christ, Heb. 4. 3. 9. 10. 11. The Hebrew Doctors say, The Sabbath, and the precept against idolatrie, each of these two, is as weighty as all the other Commandements of the Law: and the Sabbath is a signe betweene God and us for ever. Therefore who so transgresseth the other Commandements, he is generally a wicked Israelite: but hee that openly profaneth the Sabbath, is as an Idolater, both of them as infidels in all their affaires. Therefore the Prophet laudeth and saith (Esay. 56. 2.) Blessed is the man that doth this, and the sonne of man that layeth hold on it: that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, Maimony, treat of the Sabbath, chap. 30. Sect. 15.
Vers. 14. that soule] the Chaldee translateth, that man shall be destroied. This cutting off, the Iewes understand to be untimely death by the hand of God; when a man so violateth Gods Law, as there are no witnesses whereby men should punish him: See Gen. 17. 14. And of the Sabbath thus they write; that for doing worke therein, if a man doe it willingly and presumptuously, he is guilty of cutting-off, (to perish by the hand of God:) and if there bee witnesses that see him, he is to be stoned to death; [as was performed in Num. 15. 35. 36.] and if he doe it of ignorance, (or errour,) he is bound to bring the sin offring appointed for the same: (according to the Law in Numb. …5. 27. 30.) Maimony, in treat. of the Sabbath, chap. 1. Among the heathen Romanes, their Flamins (or Priests) might see no work done on their holy daies, but by a cryer gave men warning to the contrary; and who so obeyed not, was …ulcted, and gave a beast for a sacrifice. Albeit they might doe things whereof dammage would follow, if they were omitted, as to pull an oxe out of a ditch, to underset an house ready to fall, &c. Macrob. Saturn, booke 1. chap. 16.
Vers. 15. of Sabbathisme] that is, of cessation and rest. See Exod. 16. 23. The Greeke translateth it, a rest holy to the Lord.
Vers. 16. to observe] Hebrew to doe, see the notes on Exod. 34. 22.
Vers. 17. me] the Chaldee translateth, Betweene my Word and the sonnes of Israel: that Word is Christ, by whom the Sabbath is truely sanctified to his Church, Hebrewes 4. From this Scripture the Hebrewes gather, that onelyonly Israel was charged with the sabbath day, and not the nations of the world: Talmud. in Betsah, chap. Iom tob. So from Exod. 16. 29. Yet thus also they say; It is unlawfull to speake to an Infidel to doe any worke for us on the Sabbath day, although he be not charged to keepe the Sabbath, and although he be spoken to before the Sabbath. Maimony, treat. of the Sabbath, chap. 6. Sect. 1. Howbeit this opinion of theirs seemeth not agreeable to Gods will; for the Sabbath was to be kept before the Law was given at mount Sinai, Exod. 16. 23. even from the Creation, Gen. 2. 2. 3. therefore it was given to all the world. was refreshed] the Greeke and Chaldee doe translate, hee ceased and rested. This is spoken of God, after the manner of men, who are refreshed by rest from their workes. Of such manner speeches, see what is noted on Genesis 6. 6.
Vers. 18. of stone] that so the record of them might remaine for ever, Iob 19. 24. These Tables were the worke of God, even as the writing was the writing of God, Exod. 32. 16. and these being broken in peeces, (Exod. 32. 19) two other tables of stone, like them, were hewed out by Moses, but written againe by the Lord, Exod. 34. 1. 4. After this, Christ by the Spirit of God writeth his Law, not in Tables of stone, but in fleshly Tables of the hear…, 2 Cor. 3. 3. and these fleshly tables, are also the work of God, as he saith, I will take the stonie heart out of their bodies, and I will give them an heart of flesh, Ezek. 11. 19. The Minde and the Heart, are the spirituall tables, Heb. 8. 10. in the one, such things are written as men should know and beleeve, in the other, such as should be done or omitted. The first Tables which God made, signified the stonic hearts, which all men have by nature now corrupted, in which notwithstanding God hath left his Law written, so that they doe by nature the things of the Law, and shew the worke of the Law written in their hearts, Rom. 2. 14. 15. though still they continue hard and stonie, and their sinfull nature is not changed. The second tables of stone, signified the heart of the Iewes, hewed and polished by Moses and his legall ministerie, in whose heart God also wrote his Law, wherein they rested, and made their boast of God, and knew his will, and had the information of knowledge, and of the truth in the Law, Rom. 1. 17. 18. 20. Howbeit their heart continued stonie and unchanged, so that they which taught others, taught not themselves; neither could they stedfastly looke on Moses face, nor see the end of that which i… abolished, but their mindes were blinded; and even to this day, a veile is laid upon their heart, Rom. 2. 21. 2 Cor. 3. 7. 13. 14. 15. The third, which are tables of flesh, is the worke of Christ by his Spirit, giving us new hearts, and writing his Lawes in them, 2 Cor. 3. 3. Ezek. 36. 26. Heb. 8. 10. These things, both of the weakenesse of Moses ministerie, and of the grace of Christ, the ancient Hebrew Doctors acknowledged, as in their glosse upon Song 1. 1. Let him kisse me, &c. there, mentioning that request of the people in Exod. 20. 19. Speake thou with us, &c. they say, Moses taught them the Law, and whatsoever they learned, they forgat againe. Then they came unto Moses, and said, O that God would shew him-selfe againe; and kisse us with the kisses of his mouth, that his doctrine might be fastened in our hearts. Moses said unto them, This cannot be done now, but it shall be in the dayes of Christ; as it is written, (Ier. 31. 33.) I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. Midrash. Cant. 1. 1. finger] which signifieth Gods Spirit, as, I with the finger of God, cast our divels, Luk. 11. 20. which is expounded, the Spirit of God, in Matth. 12. 28. That which was written, was according unto all the words, which the Lord spake with Israel in the mount, out of the midst of fire, Exod. 20. Deut. 9. 10.